BT buys live-soccer rights for $1.4 billion

KathyGordon

LONDON—BT Group PLC has added another pricey notch to its sports bow, paying £897 million ($1.4 billion) for the 2015-18 rights to two European soccer championships that are currently broadcast by British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC and ITV PLC.

The British telecommunications and broadband provider has been bulking up its sports channels, which were launched this summer, in a bid to rival the market leader Sky. The company last year agreed to pay £738 million for exclusive rights to broadcast 38 English Premier League soccer games over the next three years, an investment the company has previously said will hurt its profit.

Reuters

Norway's Gustav Medonca Wikheim (7) fights for the ball against Israel's Ahed Azzam during their European U-21 qualification soccer match at Marienlyst stadium in Drammen, Norway October 15, 2013.

The company said on Saturday that it could incur an annual charge of £299 million for the 2015-18 broadcast rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League tournaments without changing its current financial outlook.

BT wants its sports channel, which includes coverage of other sports, such as women’s tennis, to attract new television viewers and lure broadband customers away from Sky and Virgin Media Inc., the U.K. cable-TV and Internet provider of Liberty Global Inc. BT offers its sports channels free to existing broadband users.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.